El conjuro 2

Decided to re-watch both 'The Conjuring' films, with memories of really liking both, after watching, and not liking all that much, 'The Nun' (which was watched as part of my watching as many films of 2018 as possible quest) very recently. Just to see whether they held up, as good as remembered and whether they succeeded where 'The Nun' didn't and didn't make that film's mistakes.

On re-watch, 'The Conjuring 2', like its very good predecessor, does hold up very well and actually just as good as remembered. It succeeds splendidly in where 'The Nun' failed and has none of its mistakes. 'The Conjuring 2', like its predecessor, is not a perfect film, but it is very atmospheric, well made and genuinely scary, or at least to me it was. It is a very familiar premise, done to death actually, but the atmosphere stops it from being too predictable and there is enough freshness. As a sequel, it fares very well and one of not many to actually be on the same level as its predecessor.

'The Conjuring 2' is overlong, which is its biggest issue. This would have been rectified by 20 minutes being trimmed and the pace of the first act, with a beginning that doesn't attention-grab or unsettle as it should have done, tightened up.

Other than those, 'The Conjuring 2' is very good. It looks great, especially for horror films released in recent years (too many of which have looked like they were made on the schlocky cheap). It looks slick and stylish while having a spooky setting and suitably nightmarish lighting. The music is haunting and not over-bearing, recorded in a way that is not overly loud or obvious that it spoils the atmosphere (which was great because many horror films seen recently failed in this regard).

Script is not too awkward and is structured coherently, with nothing cheapening it like sluggish exposition or cheesy misplaced humour. The direction is meticulous in detail and clearly shows an engagement and ease with the material. The story takes time to unfold but doesn't get dull once it gets going, while the ending is leagues better, much more momentum and the resolution didn't feel rushed. As said too, 'The Conjuring 2' yet again is genuinely scary, with actual tension, suspense and dread, in a palm-sweating and heart-pounding sense at its best, while not relying too much on jump scares (they are there but have build up and were surprising).

Found myself liking the characters more than expected. The leads were ones worth caring for, didn't get frustrated with them, wish for more personality or annoyed by them. The antagonist was frightening, was neither over-used or under-utilised and didn't look cheap. The acting also comes off well, especially Vera Farmiga who is superb, Patrick Wilson is even better here, while also impressed with how Frances O'Connor coped with a role that on paper seemed limited.

Summarising, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

It's 1976. Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) investigate the Amityville house. After the incident, they are attacked for participating in a hoax. Lorraine is haunted by the nun and visions of Ed's death. She convinces him to stop. Meanwhile in London, the Hodgson family is suffering from a haunting. Peggy Hodgson (Frances O'Connor) is a single mom with four kids. Janet, the 11 year old, is possessed by the spirit intermediately. As more incidents occur and a media crisis gather, the church calls in the Warrens.

At its core, this is a simple haunted house horror. There are a few good horror moves but by itself, it's not that special. The Warrens make it special. They have create a compelling horror universe. Lorraine and the nun have a great nightmare scene. The best is Lorraine having a heart to heart with Janet. They make all the difference.

First, the all-important question: Is The Conjuring 2 scary? Like, jump out of your seat, watch through your outstretched fingers scary? The answer to that is "yes." Under James Wan's direction, even the most clichéd haunted-house tropes (and this movie is bursting with them) are genuinely creepy, and although the movie isn't overly reliant on jump scares, the ones it does use—well, they work. On a lizard-brain level, The Conjuring 2 taps into the universal childhood fear of the dark, and some of its simplest moments—like a little girl hiding under the covers with a flashlight—are its most effective, bolstered by skillfully executed sound design and Don Burgess' gloomy cinematography.

Speaking of tropes, that's where the "based on a true story" bit comes in. The main plot of the film revolves around a real-life incident known as the Enfield Poltergeist, an extremely well-documented case of a supposed ghost who terrorized the Hodgson family of North London from 1977 to 1979 and was apparently a fan of the classics: knocking on walls, shaking beds, throwing furniture, and even the occasional haunted kid's toy. And as malevolent spirits often do, it picked on one of the children in particular, 11-year-old Janet Hodgson (Madison Wolfe). Call it a collective delusion, or a desperate cry for attention from a disturbed child. Or call it what the movie very explicitly calls it: The Devil.

With this installment, the Conjuring movies may have overtaken The Exorcist as the most Christian of horror franchises, taking place in a universe where the Catholic Church is the spiritual S.H.I.E.L.D. and demon hunters Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) its holy roller super-agents. The film opens with the Warrens investigating the famous Amityville case, during the course of which Lorraine first encounters the hellish presence that will haunt her for the next few years. Fearing for his life, she begs her husband to suspend any future paranormal investigations, to which he reluctantly agrees. Until, that is, a priest arrives to give them their next mission: Travel to London and confirm the veracity of reports of a demonically tinged haunting.

Both Farmiga and Wilson are given their chance to shine in spooky set pieces—Farmiga early on in the film, Wilson later. But while they're both convincing in spiritual warrior mode, Wan's decision to play up the romance between the two doesn't quite work. We knew that the Warrens were a happily married couple in the first movie, but having them each individually tell the story of their paranormal love and Ed make suggestive comments about the sleeping arrangements seems odd, maybe because they're flirting in front of a possessed pre-teen whose soul is currently in the process of being swallowed by the Pit. (On the other hand, this is just another day at the office for the Warrens.) The non-horror elements of the film are uneven in general: The score, so effective in the fright scenes, suddenly evokes eye rolls when things start to get sentimental, and there's one scene of unintentional comedy where the film's retro '70s setting—another element downplayed in the first film but foregrounded here—collides with its demonic imagery in an honestly pretty silly way. (The Conjuring 2 shares its predecessor's eye for period details, some of which seem out-and-out ridiculous until they're juxtaposed with photos of their real-life counterparts in the end credits. The on-the-nose pop music gets no such redemption.) That being said, there are also some truly funny moments, like a shot of the Hodgson family running from their haunted house after a particularly intense bout of psychokinetic activity that riffs on smartasses' favorite retort, "Why don't they just move?" (And, for the record, they don't move because it's public housing, and the local council, which is naturally quite skeptical of the whole "ghost" thing, has to approve the relocation.) It's also worth noting that The Conjuring 2 is more than two hours long, allowing for lots of escalation. And while each individual haunting scene can be white-knuckle intense, by the dozenth or so such shock, the film starts to lose momentum. So the final confrontation, when it does come, is a relief in more ways than one. The long running time also allows Wan to overthink his demonology: The main villain, an infernal nun, is appropriately nightmarish, if reminiscent of the veiled "Bride In Black" from Wan's own Insidious. What's less compelling is the insertion of the "Crooked Man," a storybook scarecrow monster that starts spreading Babadook-esque chaos about halfway through and is explained as the demon assuming a form that's familiar to the Hodgsons. Which would be fine, if it weren't for the two familiar forms that the spirit has taken already.

When The Conjuring 2 focuses its efforts on scaring the audience, it succeeds, wildly. And why wouldn't it? Wan's got his horror technique locked down at this point. It's the parts where it wanders away from the basics of creating and releasing tension that prevent it from outdoing its predecessor.

"The Conjuring 2" is an excellent example of what more sequels should aspire to be. It is a perfectly executed haunting movie from James Wan that dives deep below the surface to explore themes of vision, belief and faith. The family drama is still right at the center and is quite effective, and Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are excellent to their roles. The film doesn't give anything new at the horror movie genre, but its set pieces are often impressive, even if sometimes rely a bit on jump scares. The truth is that "The Conjuring 2" has enough suspense and story to have appeal for all kinds of horror fans and is a film clever enough to scare us. nikisreviews.com

James Wan returns with the conjuring 2 after the events of the first movie Ed & Lorraine Warren have become more recognized after the most recent case of the Amityville haunting. We're then introduced to the Hodgson a woman name Peggy and her four kids down on their luck are beginning to experience strange occurrences in their house so the warrens are sent to London to gather proof. Succeeding in every way that the first film did. The conjuring 2 still holds its roots of suspense and terror with it's reliance on silent atmosphere and subtle Paceing, While still delivering sort of a seclusive atmosphere even though this is being set in a more populated area. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga again give a great performance as the warrens you start to get more in depth into their characters and their relationship to this film. Lorraine is having visions involving Ed and she's beginning to feel that they should probably give up this life in order to save their. You really understand the pain that she's feeling, as they try to bring the family closer together speaking highly on one another. It's because of these two performances you get more of a strong bond between these characters. As for the first the family themselves what screen time The other kids have they get decent performances as does Frances O'Connor as Peggy. However the best performance the one who really goes to Madison wolf as Janet one of the main children believed to be possessed. You're given plenty indication that this is a child that's pretty much depressed and just feel like a target. The way she gives a performance with her face along with ther body language when she possessed, she just does a good job. Another aspect of the movie is that it tries to give is more of a real world perspective as sort of a theme with others claiming the family trying to bank in on the whole claim as Hoax and that really Janet is the problem. Unlike the first one where they eventually explained Bathsheba this movie doesn't explain as much and leave everybody in a shadow of a doubt. You know there's something going on here but you don't exactly know what it gives sort of a mystery. What really build help build the world of these movies is that they don't try to play it off as just a movie they played real serious which Really helps immerse the audience into the Film. The conjuring two as a decent follow up a special film that keeps you curious in what is the come next.